


Complete

by Necrophagist



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Babies, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, little Sephy meets his baby brother for the first time, younger Reno, younger Sephiroth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 06:44:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4615251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Necrophagist/pseuds/Necrophagist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kadaj means "incomplete", but what if it meant something else in Jenova's tongue?<br/>Set in a nonspecific AU, see notes for further explanation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Complete

**Author's Note:**

> Set in an AU where SOLDIER is a well-established organization of child warriors long before Sephiroth is born, and the Turks are former SOLDIER trainees hand-selected by President Shinra to work as his bodyguards. They are aware of what they are and the experiments that made them that way... most times.  
> Sephiroth and Reno are cellmates and, eventually, friends.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, or its characters, plot, or content. I write about it merely for fun and gain no profit whatsoever from doing so.

When a soft knock interrupted his afternoon nap, Reno rolled over onto his side to face away from the steel-grey door, covering his face with one arm. His cellmate could get it, because he certainly wasn't about to get out of bed if he could avoid it.

The knock came again a few moments later, followed by a familiar voice. "You two know protocol. If I don't get an answer in the next forty-five seconds, I'm coming in regardless."

Groaning, Reno lifted the arm that had been over his face and waved his hand slightly, mumbling into his pillow when he spoke. "Go get the door, Seph, it's Professor Gast. He ain't so bad, yo. He likes you." When he still received no response, he sat up slightly and craned his neck to look over his shoulder at the bed across the room. Sephiroth was fast asleep, his long hair in a loose braid and his pillow clutched tightly in his arms.

"Well fuck," Reno grumbled over a huge yawn before going over to the door and standing on tiptoe to peer out the small, smudged glass window. "C'mon in, Doc, we ain't up to anything."

Gast raised one dark eyebrow at the comment before unlocking the door with a card key and entering the room, as Reno took a few steps back to allow the door to swing inward. Gast was by far the least disliked of the staff; his voice was always gentle and he was rarely impatient, and he showed a higher capacity for compassion than any of his coworkers. Still, Reno didn't trust him, especially where his cellmate was concerned; Sephiroth seemed to be of particular interest to Professor Hojo and his colleagues, and things usually didn't end well for people that interested Hojo.

Immediately the Professor went over to Sephiroth's bed and placed his hand on the youth's shoulder, shaking him gently. "Sephiroth, wake up," he said firmly, and there was a barely-detectable edge of tension in his voice. "I want you to come with me, it's rather important."

Reno tensed and stood up straighter, his mistrust of the scientists flaring and an uneasiness growing in his stomach. "Where're you taking him?"

His hand still on Sephiroth's shoulder, Gast looked back at Reno and fixed the young man with a strange look. "That is between Sephiroth and myself," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, Reno, but I'm under orders not to tell anyone about this until it's done."

The uneasy feeling mutated rapidly into dread, and Reno licked his lips when he felt his mouth go dry. "You better not hurt him," he said in a voice that shook in spite of his best efforts to sound intimidating. "I swear to God, if you or any of you fucking monsters hurt him, I'll-"

"I trust you remember what happened the last time you threatened a member of staff, Reno," Gast warned, hs tone official, though his dark eyes seemed sad. "Sephiroth isn't going to be harmed, I'm only taking him downstairs."

Reno had no idea what "downstairs" was, as he and the others were hardly ever allowed to leave their cell except for training and exams and occasionally to receive Mako treatments. He started to ask, but Sephiroth woke at last with a questioning noise.

"Sephiroth, I'd like you to come with me." Gast stood up straight and gestured toward the door as the youth sat up slowly and stretched his arms. "There's something I feel you need to know."

Sephiroth's green eyes shifted to Reno for an explanation, but his cellmate could only shrug helplessly. "All right," he said hesitantly, knowing from experience that resisting orders, even ones from Gast, wasn't advisable. He stood, his fingers shaking slightly and his gaze darting repeatedly from Reno to Gast and back again as he followed the scientist out into the hallway.

"Tell me all about it when you get back, yo. You know I hate secrets," Reno shouted after them in a forced playful tone as the metal door slammed shut and locked behind Sephiroth's retreating back. At least he hadn't been restrained; that was a good sign.

\- - -

When Sephiroth returned that evening, he was carrying something large against his chest in both arms, and his eyes were rimmed with red as if he had been crying. Gast stood behind him in the hallway, his ring of keys in one hand and the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

Reno, who had been reading a magazine while periodically giving the door a distrustful glare, shot to his feet and peered curiously at what Sephiroth was holding; it looked like sheets, or some kind of blanket. "What's that?" he asked, tilting his head in an effort to see what Sephiroth was guarding so carefully. Sephiroth's lower lip began to quiver, and when he opened his mouth to reply, he only managed a quiet squeak before pressing his lips together and sniffling.

Baffled and more than a bit concerned, Reno stared as Gast placed a hand on Sephiroth's back, patting it gently. "I'll be back in the morning to see how things are coming," the scientist said as he turned away and shut the door behind himself. "Sleep well, you two."

When the sound of his footsteps on the tile floor faded into the distance, Reno looked at Sephiroth with an expression that clearly demanded an answer, but Sephiroth didn't seem to notice; his eyes were glazed and fixed firmly on the thing in his arms. He was trembling all over, but his hands were unnaturally still, as if all of his effort was going toward steadying them.

Reno waved a hand in front of his face, trying to get a reaction. "Seph, come on. You're scaring me, yo."

At last, Sephiroth tore his gaze away from what he was holding, lifting his head and staring at Reno as if in a state of shock. "Look what Professor Gast gave me," he said in a hoarse whisper, and he shifted the pile of fabric in his arms to hold it out a fraction of an inch toward Reno.

A strange noise came from inside of the pile, and Reno leaned in to examine it, his eyes going wide. "Holy _shit_ ," he breathed.

Nestled inside the fabric, which upon closer inspection did seem to be a thin grey blanket, was a tiny child; its eyes were closed in sleep and its head was half-covered by the folds of the blanket, but there was no mistaking the familiarity of its silky silver hair and the long lashes that rested on its chubby cheeks.

After staring at it for several moments, Reno looked back up at Sephiroth, feeling strangely dizzy. "What... why...? _How_?"

"He's mine," Sephiroth whispered in the same almost reverent tone, slowly easing himself down onto the bed and settling the sleeping baby in his lap.

" _Yours_?" Reno's voice, loud and disbelieving, reverberated in the tiny cell, and the baby's features scrunched up in an unhappy pout. "How the fuck can it be yours, yo? You're just a kid!"

Normally Sephiroth would have pointed out that Reno was a year younger than him, but he only shook his head. "My DNA," he said hollowly. "They took some of my DNA when I was born, and they've been working with it for a while now..." He swallowed hard as fresh tears welled in his eyes. "They finally decided to give up, and Professor Gast... he thought maybe I should have the baby. He convinced Professor Hojo that having someone to take care of would be good for my development."

Several moments of silence followed, and Reno came to sit down on the bed next to Sephiroth. As the initial shock began to wear off, he had to admit that the idea didn't surprise him; Sephiroth was Hojo's pet project. His colorless hair, the green shade of his eyes that gradually overtook the trademark sky-blue as he grew from baby to child, the barely-noticable glow of his veins that had always fascinated and disgusted Reno. Sephiroth had merged with their Source better than any of them, he had been the ultimate success of the scientists' mysterious, expensive project... so it only made sense that they'd keep a bit of him around in the labs to play with now and again.

"So," he finally said, clearing his throat when his voice came out sounding thick. "What're you gonna' name it, yo?"

Sephiroth's brow furrowed for a moment, and he traced the curve of the baby's cheek with the tip of one finger, his breath catching in his throat when the child's lashes twitched. "Not it... _him_ ," he said quietly, then thought for another moment before speaking an unfamiliar word, breathy and guttural. Reno tilted his head, confused.

"Uhh-doj-uh? What's that?"

" _Kadaj_ ," Sephiroth corrected. "It's a word in the language of our Source. It means..." He paused for a moment, and the tears that had collected in his eyes spilled over his cheeks, making dark spots on the child's blanket. When he spoke again, his voice trembled. "It means... something that no one realized was missing until it was found."


End file.
